Tools

Jeremy Stoppelman, co-founder and CEO of San Francisco-based Yelp, has chipped in $3,000 toward an effort to capture whoever planted hundreds of strychnine-laced meatballs throughout San Francisco earlier this month, killing a 7-year-old dachshund named Oskar.

With the pledge by Stoppelman the total reward is now $5,000 for anyone who provides authorities with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund and VegNews Magazine each chipped in $1,000.

"We San Franciscans take pride in the dog-friendly nature of our city, and I'm happy to do whatever I can to help keep it that way," Stoppelman said in a statement.

Stoppelman said his dog, Darwin, is "a big part of my life and something of a company mascot here at Yelp."

"I can't imagine losing him to this kind of thoughtless cruelty, and I hope no one else has to lose their pet either," he added.

Animal Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Stephen Wells said San Franciscans are "up in arms over this sadistic crime."

Earlier this month, Oskar ingested some of the meat near Crestline Drive and Burnett Avenue in Twin Peaks. He died last week. After he became sick, community members collected hundreds of meatballs in several neighborhoods that appeared to have been intentionally set for dogs.